Steven Spielberg's return to science fiction has already made its presence felt on the world. Disclosure Day has all the makings of a modern sci-fi epic, from its star-studded cast to its gripping central mystery, which critics are responding to with overwhelming enthusiasm. Now, the time is upon us to see whether audiences do the same.
It's hard for a non-franchise movie to breakout in the modern Hollywood age of comic books and superheroes, but as the likes of Project Hail Mary and even The Devil Wears Prada 2 show us, it's still possible. Should Disclosure Day manage to do the same, you can rest assured that talks of a sequel will commence. Well, if we're being honest, they already have.
Before we go any further, we should warn you that this article contains major SPOILERS for the ending of Disclosure Day. If you would prefer that the movie wasn't spoiled for you, don't read on.
Why Disclosure Day 2 probably won't happen
If you're a fan of Steven Spielberg, you'll probably know that he doesn't generally do sequels. The legendary filmmaker fought against a return to the world of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and he wasn't the biggest fan of his 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Despite remaining on the Jurassic Park franchise as an executive producer, he hasn't returned to direct any of the subsequent six movies. That doesn't bode well for any hopes to franchise Disclosure Day.
That said, there doesn't appear to be any plans to "franchise" the film as it was seemingly concocted as a one-and-done story - something that is quite clear from its own title. At least that's what screenwriter David Koepp has to say, as he revealed to Den of Geek that the plan was always to end their story at this particular moment in time.
"We always wanted to stop that night in the control room or in a studio, in part because the movie is called Disclosure Day. In the beginning, we’re told that this information is super important, and it needs to get out, and at the end of the movie, the information gets out. That is your story. If you continued, you could never stop... our story was accomplished and it was time to end it."
It's true that Disclosure Day plays out in a very different way from other alien / sci-fi adventure movies. While those movies typically start as the alien invasion kicks off, this one takes place before the action: It's less about seeing how humanity deals with the fact that aliens are real and more about the art of fighting to be able to share that information with them. And that results in a lot of the film's central purpose and storyline remaining a mystery right until the very end.
While there is no doubt scope for a sequel within there, the very reason for Disclosure Day's existence is, well, Disclosure Day. Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), Daniel Keller (Josh O'Connor), Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), and Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson) successfully accomplish their goal of alerting the public to the existence of UFOs, aliens, and Wardex's attempt to cover up that very existence over the years through nefarious, shocking means.
Koepp does say that if the movie had a more long-term objective - or, as he says, if it was called ‘Disclosure Day and the Subsequent Week’ - then "you know you got a lot of explaining to do", but that's not the case in the slightest. Disclosure Day sets out with one goal in mind when it introduces us to Daniel and, through his parterships with Eve, Hugo, and eventually Margaret, he successfully helps himself and his allies accomplish that goal.
Now, if the movie is a resounding box office success and Universal Pictures wants a sequel, then that might be another story. But expect Spielberg to sidestep it altogether. The master filmmaker has only directed a few sequels in his career and he often avoids them as he believes they lack the same creative spark of their predecessor, even going on record to call his Jurassic Park sequel "inferior".
Disclosure Day is in theaters now.
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